


Good Grades, Filing Cabinets, and Late Night Coffee

by ZuviosGemini



Series: Cybertron University [3]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, fluff with a touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 21:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZuviosGemini/pseuds/ZuviosGemini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Engineering in itself is complex, but the growing relationship between Optimus and Megatron might just surpass the class's level of 'difficult'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Grades, Filing Cabinets, and Late Night Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> More of these big dumb gays being gay. Christ I made a mistake and listened to "Crush" by David Archuleta while I wrote, and now I'm just curled up on the couch whining.
> 
> Enjoy another installment to this series!!

Optimus felt like a zombie as he wrote down his answers for his test questions. He had stayed up super late the night before studying, determined to finally pass a test. So far, his grades in engineering hadn’t been very good. He really was trying, because he wanted to have good grades for the semester, and he also maybe wanted Professor Megatron to learn his name. The Professor only took notice of those who did a good job, and Optimus was definitely not one of those students. It was embarrassing considering how well he did in his other classes.

He sneaked a peek at the front of the classroom. Megatron was sitting in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, fingers drumming on his bicep as he looked around the room. Optimus quickly looked back at his test before Megatron’s eyes landed on him.

Everything about the older man was a distraction to Optimus. Even the way he blinked was distracting. It was slow and sensual, like a cat, and his eyes themselves held Optimus’s attention.

They always sat at half-mast, staring at you like a predator debating whether to make a meal out of you, and for some reason, Optimus found that so attractive. Megatron was like a big cat, a tiger or a lion. He commanded the entire space of his classroom, of any space he happened to be in probably, and he didn’t have to ask for respect. It was just given to him on instinct.

Optimus looked up again as he heard Megatron’s chair move. The Professor got up and stood in front of his desk, hands clasped behind his back. It made his dress shirt tighter across his chest and Optimus shifted in his seat. He really shouldn’t be surprised that he wasn’t passing the class. He was just so goddamn distracted.

He took a deep breath and went back to his test. He was almost finished. He could do this. As tired as he was, he was feeling pretty confident about most of his answers. There had been a few where he had done his best and knew that he was more than likely wrong, but most of them? They looked correct to him.

A few questions later and he was finished. He double-checked everything to make sure that he hadn’t missed one, wrote the date at the top, and then headed down the stairs to Megatron’s desk. The Professor saw him approaching and returned to his chair, grabbing his reading glasses and a red pen.

Megatron graded your test in front of you so you didn’t have to wait to see your grade. Sometimes that was a good thing, but in Optimus’s case, it was agonizing. With shaking hands, he gave Megatron his paper. The Professor went to work, comparing Optimus’s answers with the answer key. Several minutes of silence went by, during which Optimus looked anywhere but at Megatron or his test paper.

A low hum from Megatron caught his attention, and his stomach flipped over when he saw the Professor smiling. Megatron looked up at him and handed him the test back. Optimus’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the big red 76/100 at the top of his paper. His best grade yet! He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he looked at Megatron. The Professor nodded.

“You’ve improved. Well done, Optimus.”

Christ. Hearing Megatron say his name made Optimus go weak in the knees, and with a shaky nod, he stumbled back to his seat, slumping into his chair. Bulkhead, who had finished before him, was looking at him curiously, but Optimus ignored him. His heart was going a million miles an hour and it felt like he had an Olympic gymnast in his stomach. He felt like he could sprout wings and fly around the classroom.

He looked at Megatron again and almost jumped when he saw the Professor looking back at him over the top of his glasses, smile still on his face. Optimus felt the blush creep up his neck and he looked away. Oh god, Megatron had seen him sitting there grinning like an idiot. He just hoped the older man thought it was because of his test grade…

When the class was over, Optimus stayed behind. He was feeling good enough about himself to try and ask Megatron for some help, because while a 76 was better than the 50s and 40s he had been getting, it wasn’t good enough for his tastes. He could only guess it was because he had never learned the core information, which had been covered in the week and a half before he had started the class.

He had searched the online database for the class for the powerpoints, but nothing had come up. In fact, it looked like Megatron had never uploaded a powerpoint ever on the site. That meant Optimus had to ask him personally for them.

He came to a stop in front of the big desk and waited, his heart in his throat. Megatron finished writing in his day planner and looked up, smiling and taking off his glasses when he saw it was Optimus.

“I saw you were pleased with your grade.” Megatron said, confirming Optimus’s fears that he had indeed seen his idiotic grin. Optimus smiled.

“Yeah, I’m definitely glad I stayed up late to study.”

Megatron chuckled.

“That explains why you walked into your desk at the start of class.”

Dear God he had seen that? Optimus wanted the floor to swallow him up. Pushing past the crushing embarrassment he was feeling, Optimus cleared his throat.

“I actually had a question. Uh, it’s just… I know I can do better on these tests, in this class in general, and uhm, I-I think if I had the powerpoints from the classes I wasn’t here for, at the beginning, the ones with the core information, I would understand it all better? I looked for them online and I didn’t see them, s-so I was wondering… if you uhm… maybe had some hard copies I could have? To study with? I mean if you don’t, I can just get them from Bulkhead. He’s my roommate and he’s been helping me a bit, but I still think I need that core information. So I guess I was wondering if I could have those older powerpoints?”

Optimus was out of breath by the time he was done talking, and the entire time he had rambled, Megatron had just sat there and smiled at him. A single beat went by before Megatron nodded.

“Yes of course.”

Optimus’s body sagged in relief.

“I keep the hard copies in the library for students to pick up. I never put them online.” Megatron said, cocking his head. “When is your next class?”

Optimus shrugged with one shoulder.

“Not for another hour and a half.”

Megatron was nodding again and then he stood up, packing up his things and putting his glasses into his breast pocket. He turned off the desk lamp and walked around the desk to Optimus.

“I haven’t printed out the copies of yesterday’s powerpoint yet, so why don’t we both just head down there now?”

He smiled and Optimus thought he might faint from how close he was standing.

“Y-yeah okay.” He said, following his Professor out the door and down the hall. They walked in silence mostly until Optimus couldn’t stand it.

“Why don’t you put the powerpoints online?” He asked. Megatron raised an eyebrow.

“What happens if the Internet goes out? How will you study if you can’t get to the notes? The Internet likes to go down around here, and I don’t want students using that as an excuse for not being caught up if they miss a day.”

Optimus chuckled.

“Yeah that’s true. You’d think they would fix that Internet problem by now.”

Megatron looked at him again.

“You would think.” He drawled.

They reached the library and went to the back where the printers and filing cabinets were kept. Optimus found the engineering cabinet and started to look through it. There was a lot of material inside, and he apparently looked a little lost, because Megatron put his reading glasses back on and reached inside as well, searching through beside Optimus.

“I should clean out the old stuff one of these days.” Megatron said as he looked. When his hand brushed Optimus’s by accident, it was like a bolt of electricity through Optimus’s body. He almost wanted to slap himself. He was getting in way too deep way too fast. Megatron was his PROFESSOR, not some classmate that he might have a chance with. The thought disheartened him a bit.

Megatron pulled out seven packets, each looking to be at least ten pages front-to-back, and set them on top of the cabinet one by one. He then grabbed a large binder clip from the table beside the cabinet and clipped the packets together, handing them to Optimus.

“It looks like a lot because it is. Pace yourself, read it all in pieces or you won’t retain the information.”

Optimus nodded and put the packets in his backpack, feeling at a loss for what to do next.

“I’ve still got an hour or so to kill…” He said, smiling shyly when Megatron raised an eyebrow at him. “I could help you clean out the cabinet for a bit.”

Megatron’s expression was amused as he smiled and Optimus could feel his legs getting jelly-like again.

“Trying to earn brownie points? The only way to get a good grade in my class is to study.”

Optimus’s face lit on fire as he stuttered.

“N-no I just thought since I was here—!“ He stopped in his tracks when Megatron actually laughed. Optimus instantly liked the husky sound of it.

“Calm down, I was kidding. I would appreciate the help. My TA doesn’t have any free periods today, and now that I’ve seen that mess in the cabinet, I’d like to get it taken care of as soon as possible.”

Optimus relaxed with another smile.

For the next 45 minutes, Optimus pulled out the packets that Megatron named off and gave them to him. The packets would be put in the recycling bin when they were done. They worked mostly in silence aside from Megatron naming packet numbers, but it was a good silence. Optimus was right about Megatron reading ANYTHING and making it sound good.

A few times Megatron’s hand partially covered Optimus’s hand when he grabbed the packet, mostly because he was already looking for the next one on the list, and Optimus prayed to GOD that Megatron didn’t hear his sharp inhale the first time it happened. Megatron’s hands were big and warm, with rough callused fingers, and Optimus felt himself sink another inch into the pit of “you have got it so fucking BAD”.

It came time for Optimus to leave so he could get to his next class on time, and he was so disappointed. He had liked spending time with his Professor. He had noticed little things about Megatron that he might not have had he not been alone with him. He wondered if Megatron knew that he rubbed a thumb over his goatee when he was thinking…

“I will see you in class tomorrow.” Megatron said as he and Optimus headed out of the library. He younger man nodded, his eyes following Megatron’s hand as he put his reading glasses away again.

“I’ll do some extra studying tonight, so I can at least be a little more caught up tomorrow.”

Megatron nodded, checking his watch and sighing.

“30 minutes to spare… I hate my 3 o’clock class. They don’t understand the importance of silence.”

He smiled at Optimus again.

“Your class however, I enjoy greatly.”

Optimus actually twitched because his knees threatened to give on him. Being this close to Megatron and having him smile at him was a little much for Optimus.

“You all understand what ‘silent’ means.” Megatron continued, making Optimus smile.

“Silence is good.” Optimus replied. “It makes working easier in my opinion. So uhm, I’ll see you tomorrow? In class I mean.” He added quickly. With another smile and a nod, Megatron parted ways with the junior, heading back to his classroom. Optimus headed in the opposite direction towards his next class.

Megatron reached his classroom and sat back down in his chair, leaning it all the way back until he was fully reclined. Then he snorted a laugh and ran a hand over his face. He would have to be blind not to see the massive crush Optimus was harboring on him. He luckily wasn’t blind, but he was a fool for letting himself get closer to the junior.

He had been avoiding spending any time with him because he didn’t want to give Optimus false hope. For god’s sake, Megatron would be turning 52 at the end of the summer. Optimus was probably no older than 23. That was almost a 30-year age gap.

But then he remembered Optimus’s goofy smile from earlier, and how he had stumbled back to his desk after getting his test back. Megatron knew the smile wasn’t just because of the grade, and really, how was he supposed to not find that adorable?

He shook his head slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling very tired. This situation had the potential to completely explode. He just hoped it wouldn’t end up like that. He had no idea what he was going to do, because he could already sense the prickling beginnings of feelings in his head, something he hadn’t felt in a very long time…

[][][][][]

Another week or two passed and Optimus’s grades continued to improve. When he got his first A on a test, Ratchet bought his ragtag group of misfits pizzas for their movie night as a celebration of sorts.

“So what did Professor Megatron say about your grades getting better?” Bulkhead asked. Optimus inhaled his pizza and it took Bulkhead thumping him on the back a few times for him to start breathing again, his face red from coughing.

“N-nothing really… he just said he was impressed.” Optimus said. Ratchet raised an eyebrow when Optimus’s face turned a darker shade of red. The others didn’t notice however, because they were too busy chattering about Megatron being impressed. It was indeed a rare happening, and it made Ratchet think.

[][][][][]

“Hey, Bulk, have you seen my textbook? It has all my notes from today in it.” Optimus said, emptying his backpack and digging through its contents. Bulkhead didn’t look away from his video game as he shrugged.

“I don’t think you even put it in your backpack. Might be back in the classroom.”

Optimus groaned. He had so much work to do, how could he forget it? He grabbed his jacket and headed out of the dorm, hoping that Megatron hadn’t gone home for the night.

While he still got weak-kneed around the older man and sometimes stumbled over himself, he had gotten more confident when speaking with him. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination or not, but it seemed like Megatron had opened up a bit more as well, his smiles just a little wider, his eyes lingering on Optimus for a second longer as he lectured.

It was probably just wishful thinking…

Optimus saw a little bit of light coming through the window on the classroom door and sighed in relief. Megatron was still there. He went to knock but stopped when he looked inside.

All the classroom lights were off. The lamp on Megatron’s desk was the only source of light in the room. He had his glasses on as he read over papers, but suddenly he sat back, pulling the glasses off and rubbing his eyes. He then tossed the glasses onto the desk and looked around the room, heaving a heavy sigh through his nose.

Optimus’s stomach twisted at the sight. Megatron looked so tired and… sad. The Professor looked at the pile of papers in front of him and rubbed his eyes again, leaning back in the chair. Optimus swallowed around the lump in his throat and rapped on the door, waving shyly when Megatron looked his way.

Megatron smiled at the student in his window and motioned for him to come in, his depressing thoughts forgotten for the moment.

“Forget something, did you?” Megatron said, picking up a textbook from the corner of his desk and holding it out. Optimus accepted it with a shake of his head.

“Yes, I did.” He chuckled. “Kind of… need this I guess.” He said, hefting the book and giving it a shake.

“You do if you want to continue your upward climb in this course.” Megatron said, watching Optimus’s ears turn red.

“I really am proud of you.” Megatron continued, waiting until Optimus looked at him to smile. ”You have improved faster than any other student I have, and your grades are currently better than some of the students that have been here since the beginning.”

Optimus was practically glowing from all the praise and he shifted his weight, unable to keep the smile off his face. It gave him an extra boost of confidence that caused his next sentence to come out of his mouth unprompted.

“Grading papers seems really boring. Want some company?”

He immediately froze, the gravity and possible implications of his sentence hitting him in the stomach. Megatron blinked at him, rubbing at his goatee for a moment before smiling, the tired look coming back into his eyes.

“I have a lot of work to do, Optimus…”

Megatron watched as Optimus’s shoulders dropped a bit and before he could stop himself, he was standing up and packing his things away.

“Actually, you know what. I’m going to be here all night and I don't want to fall asleep on my papers. Nothing would be more embarrassing than having you all come in and see me drooling on your hard work tomorrow morning.”

Optimus laughed. It was shy like the rest of the things Optimus did, but Megatron liked it… and damn him for what he was about to say.

“How is the coffee at the campus café?” He asked.

Optimus’s eyes were wide and his heart was starting to pound.

“It’s pretty good.” He said slowly. Megatron picked up his previously tossed glasses and put them in his pocket.

“Good enough that you’d be willing to have a cup with me? You have studying to do and I have papers to grade. Caffeine might help us both stay awake a bit longer.”

Optimus broke into a grin, nodding.

“Yeah, that sounds good to me.” He said. Megatron nodded and turned off the desk lamp, casting the room into darkness. Luckily it was a straight line to the doorway so they didn’t trip over anything. Megatron held open the door for Optimus and they made their way to the 24-hour café.

A short while later, they were sitting outside enjoying the cool evening with cups of coffee. Optimus put his textbook on the table and took a sip of his coffee, smiling at the warmth. It wasn’t boiling hot because he put milk in his coffee, along with two sugars. Megatron had foregone the milk, just putting sugar in his cup.

“You’re right. It’s not bad.” Megatron said after taking his first sip. Optimus cocked his head at him.

“Are you seriously telling me that in all the years you’ve worked here, you’ve never had a coffee from the café?”

Megatron paused and looked away from Optimus, fingers playing with the edge of his cup.

“Having a coffee by myself always seemed like a boring idea, so I just never bothered.” He drawled.

‘By myself’… Optimus’s stomach clenched again and he took another sip.

“Oh…” He said softly, deciding against commenting further. A small silence lapsed before either of them spoke again.

“What reason do you have for taking engineering?” Megatron asked. Optimus immediately drew a blank. His reason was Megatron but that wasn’t exactly an appropriate answer. He decided to go with his default answer.

“It seemed interesting so I figured I’d give it a shot. Bulkhead is an engineering major so I hear about it a lot.”

Megatron pursed his lips, obviously amused.

“Additions as late as yours are rare in my class. Why wait so long to join?”

Optimus knew he looked like a deer in headlights as he struggled for an answer, and oh god Megatron was starting to smile. He better say something quick.

“I was uh… debating on whether I really wanted to take it, because I don’t need it for my major.”

“Your major being…?”

“I’m going for a B.A. in history.” Optimus said proudly. Megatron nodded in approval.

“You must be in one of Professor Ratchet’s classes then. He’s quite brilliant.”

Optimus laughed.

“Brilliant and cranky. He’s been looking after Bulkhead and me since our freshman year. He’s even sort of tutored me when ROTC was making it hard to find time to study.”

Megatron looked interested.

“You’re in the ROTC program?”

Optimus shrugged.

“Yeah, why? Do I look too skinny?” He joked, making Megatron laugh.

“Hardly,” Megatron said. “I just didn’t think it was something you’d be interested in. You’re always so quiet in class.”

Optimus shrugged and smiled, sort of stuck on the fact that Megatron had said ‘hardly’ and not ‘no’ in regards to his physique.

“I’ve always been quiet in school,” he said, “but ROTC has been good for me. Confidence building and leadership and all that.”

“That is true. I was in the army for a long time before I became a professor.” Megatron said.

“I could have guessed to be honest. It’s the way you hold yourself.” Optimus said. Megatron smiled at him.

“You learn how to command a room very quickly.”

“So uh, I hope this isn’t a stupid question but, were you in the American Army, or…?”

Megatron chuckled, and Optimus really liked the sound of it. It vibrated in his chest, making it sound more like a rumble than a chuckle.

“I know. The accent. I was born on American soil, but shortly after, my parents moved us back to England. We didn’t return to the States until I was two. So I am an American citizen, and I was in the American Army. My accent got me a lot of grief from the other soldiers. Hard to get rid of something that you hear constantly every single day when you’re growing up. They never really did let up about it.”

Optimus smiled but he didn’t feel happy. It sounded like Megatron had always had it hard.

“They did learn to keep it to themselves when I climbed the ranks right past them though.” Megatron laughed, drawing a laugh from Optimus as well. The two men realized that their coffee cups were empty and decided to call it a night.

Megatron picked up Optimus’s book and handed it to him. Their fingers touched and Optimus jerked back, book held tight in his hands. Megatron only smiled at him.

“Hopefully you’ll get some studying done, now that you’re wide awake.” Megatron said. “I’ll see you in class.”

Optimus had learned that that meant goodbye, so he smiled and nodded.

“I’ll be there.”

Megatron watched him go for a moment before shaking his head, heading back to his classroom.

“Megatron, you great big fool…” He said quietly. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”


End file.
